@Robert Courtney In my state, if you go to court and bring the contract proving that you are under contract on the home, the judge can either move out the auction date or maybe not confirm the auction sale; I am not sure which because we haven't done it, but a friend of mine who's company bought like a thousand homes in the area over the past few years has a lawyer that does that for him.  

I think you're on the right path, focus on getting your engineering degree while studying up on how to acquire your first property.

Fines are heavy and the attorney fees are more. 2) If a case is brought against you, you are considered guilty of illegal discrimination unless you can prove otherwise.

Glad to have you on here.Advice for this site...1) Set up keywords for your area and interests so that you're notified when they're used and then start interacting.2) Read through  The Ultimate Beginner's Guide3) Go through applicable blogs and podcasts as there are a lot of great resourcesAdvice for REI...1) Pick a strategy and study up on what you need to know/do for the 1st step and then do it, then repeat for all following steps until you have completed your first investment then repeat the process and keep learning.

So, I've done all the studying as recommended in books like Brandon Turner's book, The Book on Rental Property Investing or Frank Gallinelli's book, What Every Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow.  

Easy answer: Go on this forum and study different marketing techniques.

Banks can prove what they paid for an asset as price is usually listed in appendix "A" of a note sale agreement in case of a buyback or dispute. 

So that brings me to my updated calculator with an adjusted rent increase of 2% annually, a beefed up utilities allocation of $150/mo, as well as upping the maintenance to $1200 annually up from $1000.So if those numbers prove to be correct, then that brings my initial cash flow down under $50/mo for the first year which is territory I don't necessarily want to be in.

It seems it would be difficult to get anything from a bank without being able to prove my legitimacy but are their private lenders that are willing to lend to people like me?

I might be able to finance you, if you can prove to me that you are an acceptable risk.